Silver halide color photographic materials comprise generally silver halide emulsion layers which are sensitive to light of each of the three primary colors of blue, green and red and develop yellow, magenta and cyan colors. Namely, a dye image is reproduced by subtractive color photography. Accordingly, the dye image to be reproduced is greatly affected by the color-sensitive characteristics of each layer and the spectral absorption characteristic of developed colors. Generally, these characteristics can be not always set to the theoretical optimum conditions, because the conditions are restricted by various factors such as the developability of compounds. Particularly, the developed hue of magenta couplers is an important factor to color reproducibility, and attempts to improve magenta couplers have been made [see, JP-A-49-74027 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), JP-A-49-111631, etc.]. It has been found that pyrazoloazole type magenta couplers scarcely cause unnecessary secondary absorption and are advantageous in color reproducibility (see, U.S. Pat. No. 3,725,067, etc.).
However, these pyrazoloazole type magenta couplers have serious problems to color photographs in that they are reacted with the oxidants of aromatic amine compounds left behind in photographic materials after processing and as a result, magenta stain is formed after long-term storage.
As a means for preventing said magenta stain from being formed, there has been proposed a method wherein a compound (a) and a compound (b) are incorporated in photographic materials, said compound (a) reacting with aromatic amine color developing agent left after color development to form a compound which is chemically inactive and substantially colorless, and said compound (b) reacting with the oxidant of the aromatic amine color developing agent left after color development to form a compound which makes the oxidant chemically inactive [see, EP-A-0277589 (the term "EP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published European patent application")].
However, the photographic materials containing the above compounds, cause such serious problems that when the pH values of color developing agents are changed, sensitivity and gradation are greatly affected thereby and color prints having constant quality cannot be obtained.
Silver chloride content is conventionally increased to shorten color development time. However, the photographic materials containing such high silver chloride emulsions have disadvantages in that when the pH values of the color developing agents are changed as mentioned above, sensitivity and gradation are remarkably influenced thereby.